Vending-machine.



. E. P- SPAULDING.

VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 28,1914.

Patented Oct. 13, 1914.

2 SHEETSSHBET 1.

Q i Q WITNESSES.- M 5 1/ 4Q, ATTORNEY THE NORRIS PETERS CON PHOTO-LITHO.. WASHINGION. D.

E. F. SPAULDING.

VENDING MAGHINE.

APPLIOA'IIQN FILED FEB. 28,1914.

Patented Oct. 13, 1914.

2 BHEBTS-SHEET 2.

F acad'd BY 4! ifim ATTORNEY WITNESSES:

THE NORRIS PETERS CO.v PHOTO'LITHO wAsHlNcrON, D. C.

UNITED STATES PA EN OFFICE.

ELIJAH F. SPAULDING, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

VENDING-MACHIN E.

Original application filed November 13, 1913, Serial 800,710.

February 28, 1914.

To all whom it may concern:

lie it known that I, ELIJAH F. SPAULDING, a citizen of the United States, and resident of New York city, borough of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vending-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This application is a division of my application for patent for coin controlled vending machine, filed November 13, 1913, Serial No. 800,710.

The object of my invention is to provide a vending machine with simple and eflicient means to permit the delivery of desired goods, such as packages of candy, chewing gum and the like, from the machine, upon the insertion of a proper coin in the coin slot of the machine.

My invention comprises novel details of improvement and combinations of parts that will be more fully hereinafter set forth and then pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein,

Figure 1 is a side view of my improved machine, the cover 1 and plate 24 being removed, showing the parts in position ready for operation; Fig. 2 is a similar view, illustrating the parts in operated positions; Fig. 2 is a detail section on the line 2 2 in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the casing on the line 3, 3, in Fig. 1; Fig. 1 is a detail sectional view, illustrating part of the ejector lever; Fig. 5 is a detail view, illustrating the position of some of the parts when moved in the absence of a proper coin; Fig. 6 is a fragmentary detail, enlarged, illustrating a portion of the ejector lever; Fig. 7 is an edge view of Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail view of a portion of the ejector lever and coin releaser; Fig. 9 is a section through Fig. 8, and Fig.

10 is av detail plan view, enlarged, of the ejector for the goods.

rest or shelf 4: for the stack of goods, a space Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 13, 1914.

Divided and this application filed Serial No. 821,627. 1

lowermost article to be ejected from under the stack of goods to drop upon an inclined bottom wall 6 of the casing that is provided with the side opening 7, through which the goods are ejected. A suitable cover 1 may be detchably secured upon the open side of casing '1, in any suitable manner, whereby the goods, the coins deposited, and coin con trolling and ejecting mechanism are protected. The ejector I have shown comprises a frame 8 closed on the sides and open above and below, adapted to rest and slide upon the rest 1, as shown in Fig. 1, in position to receive the lowermost article of the stack of goods within the space 8 (Fig. 10), and whereby when said ejector is moved inwardly along rest 4, such lowermost article will be drawn into the casing for deposit upon the bottom wall 6 in position to be ejected through opening 7. Ejector 8 is provided with a downwardly extending finger or pusher 9, above wall 6, to push the article deposited upon said wall out through the opening 7. Said ejector is pivotally connected with a two-part ejector lever, as

at 10. Said ejector lever is shown comprising a lower part 11 (pivotally connected with ejector 8) and an upper part 12, which parts are concentrically pivoted upon a stud being provided at 5 below chute 2 for the r or the like 13 secured upon casing 1. The

lever 12 is shown provided with a hub 12 journaled upon stud 13 and the part 11 is shown provided with a hub ll journaled .upon hub 12 and at ltis a spring shown co1led around hub 11 and having one end attached to lever 11, at 15, and its other end attached to lever 12, at 16. Lever 12 is shown provided with a projection 12" on one side adapted to engage the lever 11 under the normal action. of spring 14, whereby said spring and projection 12 serve tocause the levers 11 and 12 to assume the normal positionsshown in Figs. 1 and 2, when the 1 lever 11 is not restrained, and to permit the Similar numerals of reference indicate lever 12 to move relatively to lever 11 when the latter isrestrained, for the rejection of spurious coins and tokens, as illustrated in Fig. '5. The top wall 1 of easing 1 is shown curved on an are described around the center of stud 13, and is cut away forming an opening at 1, to permit the passage and play therein of the finger piece extension 12 of lever 12. Lever 12 carries a shield 17, curved to correspond to wall 1 Cit and overlying the latter so as to slide thereon when lever 12 is rocked, and thereby to close the Opening 1. The shield 17 is provided with a coin slot 17 which, when the levers are in the normal positions shown in Fig. 1, is in register with the opening 1 for the admission of a coin, but when the lever 12 is moved to the right, as in Figs. 2 and 5, the slot 17 overlies the wall 1*, and prevents the insertion of a coin. A spring 18 connected with casing 1 and with lever 12 serves to normally draw the latter, and with it the lever 11 and the ejector 8, to the normal positions shown in Fig. 1, with lever 12 bearing against a stop at 1 Upon lever 12, beneath slot 17*, is a coin receiving ledge 19, the upper surface of which is in such position as to incline toward the left in Fig. 1 when lever 12 is in the normal position shown in said figure, whereby the coin a that is passed through slot 17 and drops upon ledge 19 will tend to roll from said ledge to the controlling de ices for releasing the lever 11, unless a spurious coin or token be inserted through the coin slot.; At a distance to one side of and below the ledge 19 is a second ledge 20 upon lever 12, onto which ledge the coin or token will fall from ledge 19, unless otherwise prevented, as hereinafter explained. Beneath ledge 20 is a coin projection 21 extending from a latch 21 that is weighted so as to normally engage the upper end of le ver 11 to prevent operation of the latter except when released by a proper coin. Latch 21 is shown pivotally supported upon casing 1 by the pivot 22, and provided with a tooth 21 to coact with either of two teeth l1 on lever 11. When said teeth are in the position shown in Fig. 1 lever 11 is retained in normal position, but after operation of lever 11 one set of said teeth will retain lever, 11 in an intermediate position if a person should attempt to obtain an extra article 3 swinging lever 12 back and forthf Lever 12' carries a depending coin guiding finger 23, normally adjacent to projection 21 in such position as to cause the proper coin that passes from ledge 20 to engage said projection. Upon lever 12 is secured a plate 2% 3), that lies against ledges 19 and 20 in such position as to provide a channel or space 25 between plate 2 1 and the upper part of lever 12 and finger 23 for guiding a coin, on edge, in its passage from slot 17 to ledge 19, thence to ledge 20, and thence along the finger to projection 21 Beneath finger 28 is a suitable receptacle 26 for the coins. At 27 is a coin releaser, shown pivotally supported upon casing 1 at 28, and hanging gravity in opposition to the projection 21, the relation of the parts 27 and 21 being such that a coin of proper diameter will rest temporarily therebetween on edge, the weight of such coin, however,

after dropping from ledge 20 into engage ment with projection 21, serving to tilt latch 21 to raise its tooth out of engagement with the teeth 11 of lever 11, the upward swing of latch 21 at such time being limited by a stop 29 upon lever 12, whereby the coin is retained between parts 21 and 27. At such time levers 12 and 11 are released, and may be moved together to cause ejector 8 to operate, as in Fig. 2. As lever 1'. is thereupon moved, the coin is to be released by moving the releaser 27 "from in front oi? the edge of the coin. For this purpose releaser 27 is provided with a laterally disposed projection 27 (Figs. 8 and 9) adapted to be engaged by an inclined projection 30 carried by linger in such position that, after lever 12 has been tilted a suitable dis tance, the projection 30 riding upwardly against projection 27 will cause the latter to be moved. away from the edge oi the coin (see dotted lines in Fig. 9). thereby releasing the coin. The coin thus releases the latch 21 and falls into the coin receptacle 2G. Latch 21 may then rest upon the uppe edge 11 of lever 11 (Fig. in position to engage and retain lever 11 when the latter next returns to normal position.

From the foregoing it will be understood that when the parts are in the normal positions and latch 21 is in engagement with lever 11, the lever 12 may be tilted regarrllosri of the insertion of a coin; lever 11, however, cannot be tilted or operated until a coin has been inserted in the coin slot and has fallen into place between the parts 21" and 2?, and by its weight has caused latch 21 to be lilted from lever 11. At such time when lever 12 is tilted, the tension of spring l-l- (cans ing projection 12 to bear against lever 11) will enable lever 11 to be moved with lever 12 to cause ejector 8 to pull out the lowermost article 3 from the stack (Fig. 2), and thereupon the coin releaser 27 will be moved to release the coin. As the lever 12 may be released to be drawn baclr quickly by spring 18, the lever 11 with the ejector 8 may thus be quickly thrust under the stack of anticles, since the free end of the ejector 8, when the levers 11, 12 have been moved, (as in Fig. will rest under the adjacent edge portion of the lowermost article 3, as indicated in Fig. 2 with respect to the we ght 3". Such quick motion of lever 11 and finger 9 would tend to forcibly eject article 3 from wall 6 through opening 7. To prevent the articles from being forcibly ejected through opening 7 I provide means to retard their exit when pushed by finger 9. For this purpose I have shown a movable member 31 beneath shelf ii adapted to obstruct the passage of the articles Said member may be in the form of a weight pivoted to casin- 1 at 32, and normally held in position to permit an article 3 to slide beneath it, yet

to be retarded in its exit by resting thereon. For this purpose I have shown member 31 pi'orided with a projection 31 resting upon a stop 33, whereby member 31 is normally in the path of the articles being ejected and may be moved back by said articles as they pass under the same, as projected by finger 9, yet will drag on the articles. The article 3 may then rest in position to be withdrawn by the purchaser, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

As so far described the machine is adapted to operate in conjunction with a proper coin. In order to prevent the machine from being operated upon the insertion of spurious coins or tokens, that are not of the proper thickness, diameter or weight, or have other characteristics differing from a proper coin, I provide the following arrangements: lhe normal space between the opposed surfaces of projection 21 and releaser 27 is such as to support the proper coin therebetween when the latter has caused latch 21 to be tilted against stop 29 and before releaser 27 has been moved to release the coin, but if a token of less diameter than such coin be inserted it willslide between the parts 21 and 2'? into the receptacle 26 without operating the latch to release lever 11. Again, the space between plate 24 and finger 30 is of such width that a coin of proper thickness will properly rest between projection 21 and releaser 27, but a coin or token of lighter weight than a proper coin will be unable )to operate the latch 21 to release lever 11. In case the token inserted should be of a character subject to magnetic attraction, I provide a permanent magnet 35 on lever 12, at a point adjacent the coin delivery edge of ledge 19 and at such a distance from the opposing edge of ledge 20 as that the token may fall (as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1) into the space between parts 35 and 20 and down upon the inclined edge 36 on lever 12, that is located below magnet 35 in position to direct the token into receptacle 26 as the token falls between the lever 12 and cover 1*. Thus, when such token is inserted in slot 17 and rides along ledge 19 it will be attracted by magnet 35 and caused to descend between said magnet and ledge 20 to prevent it from jumping or passing from ledge 19 to ledge 20, thereby to be deposited a pin carried by easing 1, adapted to receive slot 39 as lever 12 is tilted, and normally lying in the path ofthe token resting upon ledge 19. Finger 38 is provided with a projection 38 extending oppositely thereto, (Fig. 7), adapted to engage an inclined edge ll formed on a suitable block 42 secured on casing 1 in position to be engaged by projection 38 when lever 12 is rocked from its normal position, whereby to tilt finger 28 and withdraw it from the hole in the washerlike token. When such token is inserted and is caught by finger 38 passing through a hole in the token, such token will be retained upon ledge 19 and will be carried with lever 12 toward pin 40, while the projection 38 is riding upon edge 11 to cause withdrawal of finger 38 from the token, and the continued movement of lever 12 will cause pin 40 to gradually push the token along ledge 19 to drop between ledges 19 and 20 upon ledge 86, and thence into receptacle 26, since, when the token is caught by finger 38, it is prevented from rolling suddenly from ledge 19 to ledge 20, but is carried past the vertical center passing through stud 13 (to the righthand side thereof as illustrated in Fig. 2), and will drop by gravity between ledges 19 and 20 when pushed ofi" ledge 19 by pin 40.

In order to prevent the continued operation of a coin or token against the latch 21 when such coin or token is attached to a string or the like, I may provide the ledge 20 with an inclined inner edge 20 (Fig. 2) spaced from the lever 12, whereby if such coin or token having a string attached be inserted through the coin slot and passes the ledge 20, its attached string will engage in the recess formed between the inclined edge 20 and the lever 12 to prevent the coin from being withdrawn and dropped again against the latch, since the string will be engaged in such recess.

Having now described my invention what I claim is 1. In a vending machine the combination of a casing, means to support a stack of articles within the casing, an ejector, and means to guide said ejector below the stack of articles, said ejector having an opening to receive the lowermost article to draw the latter from the stack, said casing having a wall to receive articles from the ejector, and said ejector having a finger to push articles from said wall.

2; In a vending machine the combination of a casing, means to support a stack of articles within the casing, an ejector, means to guide said ejector below the stack of articles, said ejector having an opening to receive the lowermost article to draw the latter from the stack, said casing having a wall to receive articles from the ejector, and said ejector having a finger to push articles from said Wall, and a retarding device to engage articles pushed along the wall.

3; In a vending machine the combination of a casing, means to support a stack of articleswithin the casing, an ejector, and means to guide said ejector below the stack of articles, said ejector having an opening to receive the lowermost article to draw the latter from the stack, said casing having a wall to receive articles from the ejector, and said ejector having a finger to push articles from said wall, and a movable member carriedby the casing in position to engage articles pushed along the wall.

4. In a vending machine, the combination of a casing, means to support a stack of articles Within the casing, an ejector, means to guide said ejector below the stack of articles, said ejector having an opening to receive the lowermost article to draw the latter from the stack, saidcasing having a wall to receive articles from the ejector, and said ejector having a finger to push articles from said wall, a weight carried by the casing above said wall in position to engage articles pushed along the wall, and means to retain said weight hanging in position to be raised by articles passing thereunder.

5. In a vending machine, the combination of a casing, means to support a stack of articles within the casing, an ejector, means to guide said ejector below the stack of articles, said ejector having an opening to receive the lowermost article to draw the latter from the stack, said casing having a wall to receive articles from the ejector, and said ejector having a finger to push articles from said wall, and a weight carried by the easing above said wall in position to engage articles pushed along the wall, said weight having a projection, said casing having a stop for said projection to retain the weight in position for articles to slide thereunder.

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York, and State of New York, this 26th day of February, A. D. 1914.

ELIJAH F. SPAULDING.

Witnesses Mania F. Warmvmoirr, '1. F. BOURNE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

